Cody, Kaylee and Jackson MacDonald

Cody and Kaylee’s life changed forever the week of August 25th. After putting off their wedding for a year due to COVID, Kaylee and Cody were finally able to be married in 2021 and were ready to start their family. By 2022, they were elated to find out that Kaylee was pregnant and due in October. But late August, Cody and Kaylee learned that the baby was growing slowly and that they would have to induce early. This was stressful enough but then on August 25th, Cody had a seizure at their home in Blackfalds and was transported to Red Deer Hospital.

Tests revealed a mass on his brain. He was quickly transported to the University of Alberta hospital in Edmonton where he had emergency brain surgery to remove the mass. During surgery, it was discovered that the mass was a tumour and after weeks of waiting for results, the tumour was determined to be an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Only one week after getting this news, Cody and Kaylee welcomed baby Jackson into the world. However 8 days later, when most new families are still experiencing the newborn bliss, they were attending numerous oncology appointments and learning about the treatment plan ahead.

Cody requires 6 weeks of radiation and chemotherapy by a specialized team. They will need to travel to Edmonton (1.5 hours away) to get treatments 5 days a week. Not only is this hugely disruptive to life with a newborn, it’s also terribly scary and expensive. With Cody off work for a minimum of 3 months and Kaylee on maternity leave, their finances will be stressed not to mention the additional costs associated with travelling 5 days a week, gas, food and other expenses while getting treatments. It has already been a long 2 months navigating being first time parents and starting their battle with cancer.

The joy and love for their baby and each other has been overwhelming to watch, but they have a long Journey ahead of them.

They are so thankful to their family and friends who have gone above and beyond to show their support and love. Many people have asked how they can help so we thought this Go Fund Me would provide an opportunity for people to give what they can to help this beautiful new family through this difficult time.